first parent/ teacher mtg in Y7

[PastSellByDate]

Hi all:

I'm having my first parent/ teacher meeting for my Y7 DD1 soon and am wondering what is important to find out at this stage.

The letter said this was a meeting with parents/ form tutor to discuss how your child is settling into senior school. There may be comments from various subject teachers - but we won't be meeting with them.

My number one question is, of course, do you feel she's settling in alright?

but a friend said she's going to ask about end of year targets for her DC?

Is this something I should be worrying about at this stage?

At our first meeting the form tutor had a print-out with all of ds' current marks and his targets for the end of Yr9.

There weren't any end-of-Yr7 targets. Instead we were told at parents evening (the one with all of the subject teachers) whether ds was on track to meet his end of Yr9 targets.

I think I would try and find out how she did in the tests the school will have administered when she started because these can produce different results to the year 6 SATS tests. I also think I would find out what sets she is in for Maths, English etc if you do not already know. The school will have set her targets based on her test results so I cannot see the harm in asking, but if the subject teachers are not there, who do you ask? Also does your DD not know what her targets are? If she does not, I would raise this. The term "settling in" is rather vague and most parents tend to know the answer to this anyway. It could be a very brief meeting for some parents!

We have our meet the form teacher evening soon too. DD is really happy at the school so I am looking forward to finding out their take on it.

thanks for replies

Hadn't thought about in-school testing results - so thank MillyMollyMama & hopefully targets (end Y7 or end Y9) will be supplied on the night.

School doesn't start streaming until Year 8 - so there are no sets yet.

The first meeting in October in our school is only to discuss how the children have settled with their tutor, whether they get in on time, if they wear their uniform appropriately, if they remember to bring their PE kit, whether they are adjusting ok, making friends, coping with homework etc... there are no discussions at all about targets, this comes at a meeting some time around February when we get to meet the individual teachers.

thanks swingofthings: your description sounds more like what I understood it to be.

How do you find out how your child has done academically - is it wait until this February meeting or are there end of term reports?

The first meeting we had a couple weeks ago it only last approx. 4 minutes. My dd's tutor only really wants to get to know my dd better (just like everyone else). He seemed more wants to know what she does or like outside school and her personality both strengths and weaknesses from my perspective. Her tutor didn't share any info re test results or settings.

Don't schools tell parents what their reporting systems are? I knew when my DD's reports were coming home. I also think waiting until February is half way through the school year so what if academic achievements have not gone so well up to that point?

Dd's tutor gave me his email address so we are encouraged to communicate via email. My understanding of the school is that in yr7 they don't set apart from maths. Some sets are a lot smaller than others. I think at this early days both the school and new kids are still getting to know each other. I don't think the tutor can really tell me too much before half term.

I tried looking at the prospectus & new website but information on how pupils progress is reported to parents is not mentioned (old site did have something but that has now disappeared).

I think I'll play the 'dumb foreigner' card - and ask how progress is reported to parents, so at least I have a clearer idea. I'm sure there is a system - but I suspect it's more a case of they know what's going on and don't really see the need to inform parents.

When I was a year 7 form tutor, the first meeting was just about putting a face to the name, opening up channels of communication. I could inform parents about how they would receive updates on progress but not what the progress actually was.

Different form tutors will operate differently but I was always keen to be the first port of call for my parents and would then put them in contact with the relevant person (usually through email) - it helped me keep tabs on them all. It would be worth finding out how the form tutor would like to discuss issues - go through them first or to subject teachers (I always think form tutor is easiest for parents as it is just one person to remember).

I rarely had an actual data on student progress (different schools operate differently) - I could tell a parent of a child was on target, below or above but not what the actual grades were. As a form tutor, my main role was their well being and behaviour.

Some things I were asked:
How do we find out about progress?
What is the protocol if a child struggles with homework?
Who do we contact about any issues and what is the best method of contact?
What support is there for children who are struggling in class? e.g. are there homework clubs
What support is there for children who are struggling socially? e.g. is there an 'open house' type lunch club

As a general rule, you should know about any problems before a meeting - parents meetings should never come as a shock.

Sorry, some things I was asked

afterthought

Thank you so much for your helpful & timely advice. I really appreciate it & feel much better prepared for my meeting with DD1's form tutor.

thank you